Dot Hutchison | THE VANISHING SEASON

Plot (via Goodreads):

A recent abduction becomes an unexpected link to a decades-long spree of unspeakable crimes.

Eight-year-old Brooklyn Mercer has gone missing. And as accustomed as FBI agents Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison are to such harrowing cases, this one has struck a nerve. It marks the anniversary of the disappearance of Eddison’s own little sister. Disturbing, too, is the girl’s resemblance to Eliza—so uncanny they could be mother and daughter.

With Eddison’s unsettled past rising again with rage and pain, Eliza is determined to solve this case at any cost. But the closer she looks, the more reluctant she is to divulge to her increasingly shaken partner what she finds. Brooklyn isn’t the only girl of her exact description to go missing. She’s just the latest in a frightening pattern going back decades in cities throughout the entire country.

In a race against time, Eliza’s determined to bring Brooklyn home and somehow find the link to the cold case that has haunted Eddison—and the entire Crimes Against Children team—since its inception.

Review:

I've loved The Collector trilogy since The Butterfly Garden and felt such a bittersweet sensation when I finished book three. Shortly after, Hutchison announced the final chapter in a series as The Vanishing Season and the anticipation I felt for this one was almost terrifying. While the plot to this one was not as intricate or complex of a case as her previous novels, the pacing was even more intense and I loved the combination of the police procedural, the focus on Agent Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison, the current case, and how it was all woven together. 

Although Sterling was my least favorite of the team, I did enjoy getting to know her better throughout this novel and her story was heartbreaking and simultaneously empowering. Some older characters pop up in this one that are always enjoyable to read and some new ones are introduced that I found enjoyable to read as well. Hutchison has a strong ability to write characters that you really focus on and want to get to know as you travel down the twisty roads of her novels. With an intense emotional pacing, this story is much more intricate as it features some alternating chapters of Eddison in his teenage years before his sister Faith went missing. I found this one emotionally charged, character-driven, and was sad to say goodbye to these characters. With a chilling finale to the case and all of the ways that Hutchison tied up a few loose strings, I was so glad to get some answers to the cold case of Faiths disappearance. This one definitely didn't have the grittiness or the same dark vibe for me as the others, but I still found it enjoyable and a great conclusion to this series.

Special thanks to Amazon Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5